Spotlight falls on operational resilience and digital trust in Canon’s Think Big Business Leadership series this year.

A new study conducted by global cybersecurity leader ESET, with whom Canon Singapore recently partnered with to offer a cybersecurity suite of solutions, brought data intelligence to this year’s Canon Think Big series.

The research underpins the strategic necessity for a new cybersecurity suite that leverages advanced threat intelligence to deliver continuous, end-to-end protection for modern businesses.

“In an era defined by an accelerating threat landscape and complex digital risks, enterprise survival hinges on shifting from reactive defense to proactive resilience, making robust cybersecurity foundations a core prerequisite for sustainable business growth,” said Too Kok Yong, Head of Singapore Operations Group, Canon Singapore. Through Canon’s Think Big Series, we are elevating these conversations beyond technology solutions to equip leadership teams with blueprints to protect their data and maintain operational velocity amidst heightened digital threats.”

According to the study, sophisticated phishing tactics (36%), IT visibility gaps (34%), and internal skills shortages (34%) emerged as the leading causes of cybersecurity incidents. Delayed detection (55%), lack of visibility across environments (49%) and coordination across teams (44%) were the biggest challenges in containing or remediating cybersecurity incidents.

“Cybersecurity has become a business resilience imperative, not merely an IT concern,” said Parvinder Walia, President of the APAC region, ESET. “The real challenge is not only preventing attacks, but detecting and containing them before they disrupt operations, reputation and trust. Our research points to two persistent challenges: delayed detection and insufficient visibility across increasingly complex environments. This is where collaboration matters…. We are helping organizations move from reactive security to sustained resilience — combining MDR-led, around-the-clock threat detection and response with a stronger culture of cyber awareness.”

In a Mandarin panel discussion, Dr. Xu Le, Lecturer, Department of Strategy and Policy, National University of Singapore Business School, put it in a nutshell: “In today’s multi-polar economic landscape, organizational resilience has become the primary metric of enterprise survival. The businesses navigating this bumpy global terrain successfully are those that do not merely react to macroeconomic shocks, but actively optimize their resources, form strategic ecosystems, and structurally embed adaptability into their core operations.”

Spotlight on operational resilience and digital trust

Guided by its central theme, ‘Securing Tomorrow: Leadership. Innovation. Resilience.’, the Think Big series paired high-level strategic insights with immersive floor demonstrations at the 360° Security Showcase. Speakers from various industries provided key insights, including:

• In a panel discussion at the event, Lawrence Chan, Group CEO, NETS, said: “In today’s digital economy, a resilient, secure, and highly available payment infrastructure is a fundamental expectation for businesses across all industries. Businesses need payment ecosystems they can rely on, with the reliability, security and compliance standards required to safeguard every transaction across both physical and digital touchpoints. At NETS, we are committed to building a trusted and scalable digital payments network. Supported by our extensive acceptance footprint, we empower businesses to reach more customers with confidence, while delivering consumers a seamless and trusted payment experience.”
• Another panelist, Charmain Kwee, Group Executive Director, Eurokars Group, shared: “Operational agility starts with identifying gaps and anticipating shifts. As the automotive industry pivots towards an experience-led and asset-light environment, we adapt through various means while continually maintaining the heart and golden thread of what ties through all Eurokars’ businesses – personal touch and the commitment to delivering a customer-centric approach. Automation and digitalization are a necessity, but you can never automate the human touch – staying true to the trust our customers place in us remains our priority.”
• Norman Ng, Head of Trust & Safety External Consultation, Testing and Research (APAC), Google, advised: “Safe, trustworthy online environments don’t just happen; they’re designed. We will continue to invest in developing and improving policies, products, and processes that provide people with trustworthy information and content — it’s critical to our business and, more importantly, to the societies in which we operate, supporting access to information while keeping the internet safer for all.”
• Alvin Ang, Head IT, Cybersecurity & IT Transformation, Vanguard Healthcare, commented: “In the high-stakes healthcare sector, maintaining digital resilience is a direct extension of patient trust and care continuity. When we talk about scaling safely, we have to design future-ready infrastructures where complex data security does not slow down our front lines but actively supports organizational agility. Realizing this requires a massive, cross-functional effort from leadership down, ensuring that our cybersecurity posture acts as an enabler for continuous, trusted care in a volatile landscape.”
• In a discussion focused on AI, Lau Wee Kiat, CTO, Singapore AI Association, said: “The rapid acceleration of AI has entirely rewritten the rules of corporate productivity, but no single group can drive this shift alone. As the middleman connecting individuals, corporates, solution providers and government, Singapore AI Association reaches the ground through community engagement, business circles and Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), and multiplies that reach by partnering with other associations. True transformation isn’t a solo effort. It’s built by aligning the whole ecosystem toward responsible, sustainable AI adoption.”